Odds and ends

This year, give something uniquely Springfield 

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Don’t tell anybody, but Springfield really is
an odd place — or, at least, there are many odd things about it. With gift-giving season officially in full swing, we
gave ourselves the task of finding some Springfield oddities that would
make dandy presents this holiday season. Invariably, the more we shopped, the more we found
things we wouldn’t mind unwrapping ourselves this season. Here’s a sampling of things that struck our
fancy. Shabby chic Boasting an eclectic mix of the antique and
contemporary, the festively lit and brightly painted Gi Gi’s Attic is
a must on the list of hot Springfield shopping stops. The owners often
remind their customers that, yes, that attractive green Bombay chest
holding the Anne Geddes books is also for sale. Enchanted shoppers will
find everything from vintage jewelry (ranging from $5 for simple charms to
$85 for a lovely pink rhinestone bracelet) to funky black-and-white
polka-dot lamps ($72) to a traditional mahogany drop-leaf table ($265).
Swing in soon — sales are plentiful and the gift wrapping’s
free. Gi Gi’s Attic, 1425 S. MacArthur Blvd., 217-793-0967 No monkeying around You can avoid the mall, the crowds, and the chaos by
doing your Christmas shopping in practical places. Take Big R, for example.
We found such stocking stuffers as a 9-inch-long double-barreled-shotgun
lighter for $3.49. It’s not for the cig smoker (nobody cool smokes
these days); it’s for the grillmaster in your life or anybody who has
a real old-fashioned wood-burning fireplace. We don’t want to suggest
whose stocking you should stuff with Anti-Monkey Butt Powder ($4.49), but
it comes in a cute yellow-and-red canister, and it’s bound to bring a
grin to the face of somebody on your holiday list. Got any cooks on your Christmas list? Big R has
gizmos galore, and not the same ol’ same ol’ stuff you see at
the big-box stores. Where else can you get a cherry stoner ($11.99)? Or a
hand-cranked meat grinder ($12.99)? Or an Apple-Mate ($15.99), one of those
cool thingamajigs that peels and cores an apple while transforming it into
a corkscrew of crunchy sweetness? Trust us — when you elevate
apple-peeling into gadgetry, you can even get surly teenagers to abandon
their video games and cell phones long enough to make apple curls for
everyone. For macho cooks, Big R sells an assortment of seasoning and
drying kits to help make sausage or jerky. And to help holiday dinner
conversations go uninterrupted by “Pass the salt” or
“Please pass the butter,” Big R stocks some spacious 18-inch
lazy Susans crafted from beautiful solid wood that would look great on
almost any dining table. Finally, if you’ve got a deserving tyke to
treat, Big R has a surprising array of toys unlike anything else
you’ll find in town, including an entire aisle devoted to Radio
Flyer’s fine line of red wagons and accessories. Big R of Springfield, 2804 N. Dirksen Pkwy., 217-528-6675 Shake, rattle, and roll Looking for the perfect gift for the fun, flirty, and
feminine? Look no further — try belly-dance classes! Send her to
Karida’s School of Orientale Dance, where gift certificates are
available for such classes as Intro to Bellydance ($40 for four weeks) and
Level 1 Bellydance ($68 for eight weeks) or for a Girls’ Day Out,
during which she and five of her friends can take a one-hour basic
bellydance lesson and give a performance ($85). Gift certificates can also
be used in Karida’s Bellydance Boutique, located inside the school,
for exotic hip scarves and performance costumes ($25 and up) to show off in
her new classes. Karida’s School of Orientale Dance, 1432 E.
Sangamon Ave., 217-241-8370, www.karidazahava.com Charm school Etiquette is about more than just knowing which fork
to use. It’s a lifestyle, according to Keena Small, who operates
Keena’s Etiquette and Business Protocol. “The art of etiquette
is no longer valued. It doesn’t seem important anymore to say
‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’ and to be
courteous,” says Small, who specializes in training people, often
children and young adults, in what she calls the soft skills —
projecting a positive self image, enunciation, and common courtesy. These
skills are in especially high demand around this time of year as and
families prepare for holiday meals and the frequency of employer-sponsored
events increases. Through Jan. 1, Small is offering inexpensive
dinner-training courses. She even offers a 16-hour Royal Protocol seminar,
which focuses on etiquette, image enhancement, and wellness. Gift
certificates and telephone and online coaching are also available. Keena’s Etiquette and Business Protocol,
Chatham, 217-483-7370, keenasetiquette@aol.comHiding in plain sight We found some cool gifts at Farm & Home Supply,
which has a stunning array of camo. We’re not just talking your
ho-hum pants, shirts, jackets, hats, gloves, and bibs, either. No,
we’re talking a camouflage recliner. That’s right, a recliner.
How you hoist it up onto the deer stand is your problem. Farm & Home
can also outfit even the tiniest hunter, offering camo onesies, camo diaper
covers, and infant-size camo pinafores trimmed in white eyelet lace. We
don’t know whether your 18-point buck would see the lace before or
after smelling the Desitin and hearing the baby cry. But what would you
care? You’d probably be dozing in your camo recliner. For those people who have to have a gift even though
you don’t really want to give them one, Farm
& Home isMonopoly
central. There’s a bastardization of the classic game for every hobby
or interest: Farm-opoly, Horse-opoly, Wild Turkey-opoly, White Tail
Deer-opoly, and (for people unfamiliar with the truth about Springfield)
even Mayberry-opoly. The most popular version at Farm & Home is
apparently Fishin’-opoly. Customers who buy Fishin’-opoly might
want to also pick up Farm & Home’s 5-foot-long fish pillow (a
great photo prop for the unsuccessful fisherman), available in catfish and
largemouth bass varieties for $14.99 (it’s in the toy section). If there’s a lady you like, she’ll
definitely enjoy a Milkhouse Candle Creamery candle from Farm & Home.
These candles are made of soy and beeswax, so they’re not sooty, and
every scent Milkhouse makes smells great (we’re partial to Barn
Dance). The votives cost $2.99; sizes and prices go up from there. Farm & Home Supply, 2900 N. Dirksen Pkwy., 217-753-3276, www.farmandhomesupply.com. Share the spirits Walking into The Corkscrew might leave you feeling a
little overwhelmed, especially if you aren’t exactly a wine
connoisseur, but don’t fret; the store’s veteran staff of nine
years and counting immediately come to the rescue. Just by asking a few
simple questions — Red or white? Sweet or dry? Snacks or sweets?
— they can design a custom-made gift basket that’s wrapped and
ready to put under the tree. Baskets range from a holiday-inspired
collection with a bottle of $10-or-under wine and chocolates ($35), to an
Italian-themed arrangement with a bottle of Italian red wine, pasta, sauce,
breadsticks, and chocolates ($50). The Corkscrew, which specializes in
fresh imported cheeses, can also provide cheese-and-sausage platters for
your holiday parties ($35 and up).The Corkscrew, 2613 Chatham Rd., 217-698-1112,
www.thecorkscrew.com The ghosts of politics past Ah, the sounds of the season: the Temptations, Bing
Crosby, Nat Cole King . . . Everett Dirksen? Before podcasting, before the
invention of compact discs, even, it was fairly common for the voices of
American political figures to appear on vinyl, and Illinois has been home
to a several giants of politics and history, including Honest Abe, the
Great Communicator, and a vice president, governor, and U.S. senator all
named Adlai Stevenson. Listening to these historical recordings is a great
way to usher in the upcoming election year. Recycled Records offers a wide
selection of recordings by and about former Illinois pols, ranging in price
from $12 for Stevenson’s The Voice of
the Common Man to $30 for Freedom’s Finest Hour,
narrated by Ronald Reagan. Recycled Records, 625 E. Adams St., 217-522-5122 For your favorite cowpoke At Horse Creek Outfitters you can deck your favorite
cowboy or cowgirl with bling — jewelry, rhinestone belts and bags,
even cell-phone cases made of tooled leather and adorned with rhinestones.
Of course, the main attraction here is the boots — boots for every
size and taste. Horse Creek is the only local retailer that stocks our
favorite, Ariat’s “Fatbaby” line. Not your
grandmother’s stiff pointy-toed cowboy boot, Fatbaby boots are
low-heeled, round-toed and rubber-soled, and they weigh about as much as a
running shoe. Sound hideous? They’re not. They come in an array of
leathers, from traditional black and brown bomber to pinks and greens and
camo with rhinestones ($99). At Horse Creek we also found a few
Western-themed Christmas stockings (one made of Wrangler jeans) and a way
cool infrared shoot-’em-up set for the child (no matter how old) in
your life ($30.95). Horse Creek Outfitters is at 600-A S. Dirksen Pkwy.
217-544-2740 Divine intervention Whoever said that you couldn’t open presents
early obviously didn’t know that Springfield’s very-own
cheesecake bakery is set to move into downtown just in time for the
holidays. The creators of the newest spot for all things cheesecake offer a
full line of ’em, fresh, made from scratch, and made to order,
including a season-inspired sweet-potato-praline cheesecake, featuring
sweet-potato filling flavored with cinnamon and brown sugar on a gingersnap
crust, topped with praline sauce and toasted-pecan streusel ($35). Other
sweet confections, such as cheesecake-stuffed strawberries ($25 per dozen),
cheesecake truffles ($20 per dozen), and cheesecake buckeyes ($8 per
dozen), are available, too. Orders can be placed online or over the phone
until the bakery opens, and local or national delivery can be provided for
most items. Dulce Vida Bakery & Cafe, 321 E. Monroe, 217-753-8930, www.allthingscheesecake.com Dough for the Breadline St. John’s Breadline serves more than 200,000
meals each year. The Breadline’s importance to Springfield was
further demonstrated when city officials asked the agency this spring to
house a storage container because the days of many people in Springfield
who don’t have homes begin and end at the Breadline. Staff and
volunteers also maintain a comunity garden to prepare meals with fresh
vegetables. Now that the growing season has ended, the Breadline, which
offers two meals a day year-round, would like donations of veggies and
fresh herbs (and food in general). Community-services coordinator Carol
Harms says that around the holidays the staff also likes to give away
blankets and have toys on hand for the kids. Of the shut-ins to whom the
Breadline delivers food, Harms says, “We like to give them something
Christmassy to lift their spirits” in addition to their meals. Donors
may also make a memorial gift in the name of a loved one. To see the wish
lists for other Springfield charities, see “Lend a hand” page
13.St. John’s Breadline, 430 N. Fifth St.,
217-528-6098 It’s still a helluva town To heck with Twentieth Century Fox — and the
state of Vermont. There’s only one Simpsonville, USA, and it’s
right here in central Illinois. The Simpsons
Movie, whose world premier our burg narrowly
lost the opportunity to host this summer, will be available on DVD one week
before Christmas (Dec. 18). All pain and bitterness aside, it was a pretty
good movie, so you can pick it up wherever movies are sold. Plus, local
retailers such as Penny Lane Gifts and Twisted Pipes carry a totally
awesome selection of posters, T-Shirts, stickers, and more, for the
Springfield Simpsons-phile. Penny Lane Gifts, 2901 S. MacArthur Blvd.,
217-787-2996, www.pennylane.comTwisted Pipes, 406 N.Dirksen Pkwy., 217-744-0420 This story was written by R.L. Nave, Dusty Rhodes, and Amanda Robert.